Cities in movies – New York

From the post-war confusion and modern revival to the high quality images and tangled opinions, our cities have been portrayed in many movies as living and breathing characters. Because of its countless representations on the silver screen, New York occupies a massive part of our cultural imagination. So here’s our selection – so far – of movies that make you travel with your eyes and mind:

Depending on how you watch the movie, it can be either a morality tale, an uncommon love story or a wicked look at race in America. The image of King Kong wrapped around the Empire State Building and fighting off the planes is one of the most iconic in film history.

One of the classics you simply cannot stop watching again and again, as the years pass and you find yourself craving for a little piece of another century. New York is the land where every dream comes true, Holly finds true love and one stray cat gets a loving family.

This experimental underground film is presented in split screen, with twelve vignettes (totalling over six hours of screen time) and with a final run time of 210 minutes. All the action is centred on the Chelsea Hotel in NY and all the “factory superstars” that lived there.

“He adored New York City. For him, it was a metaphor for the decay of contemporary culture.”
In full bloom of the freedom of thought revolution, here we are in the middle of a friendship which soon becomes too much to handle. There is no social rule and everybody seems to do their best in searching for happiness and meaning. New York is their home and partner, but also their biggest fear, as no one can survive there too long without a purpose.

“I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.”

New York is regarded from the outsider’s perspective, with all its 1920’s decay and perpetual fascination. The fracture between the social classes, together with the opulence and pseudo-manners of the American Dreamers, build the image of a paradise where nobody is truly happy.